ROD - Kaoyan - Raven III

From the Spirit Falls to the Aqtuqtuaq Forest was half a day's ride, plenty of time for Kao to fill his handler in on what had happened at the falls - well, not that it took long. They'd taken a break for food when he told her, munching on the scrawny hare he'd managed to scare up.

"I didn't mean to look at the waters, but it's impossible to resist their call. Something just...called my name and I couldn't stop myself from going towards the falls. Don't believe what that weird guy at the general store tells you - it's not just some strange sound. There are spirits there, and they're very territorial."

"...I remember the rumor that if you weren't careful, they'd steal your soul or something." Ahris squinted at her big blue-coated mount, who had started licking the blood away from his paws and face. "I was worried you'd walk off the cliff and fall in."

"Well, I didn't. That doesn't mean the spirits weren't angry about us being there." Kaoyan grumbled and rubbed his paws over his face. "They wanted to know why I was there, and I told them that we were just trying to pass through to appease the Tokota spirits who chose me to be Dominant. And that we meant no harm to the great spirits inside the falls."

"They also say that if you did, you'd be blasted into nothing but ash and dust." She took a bite of blubbery seal meat that she'd roasted over the fire. It was hardly expertly cooked, but it was better than starving.

"Some people are too curious or too greedy for their own good, you and I both know that." The Tokota licked his lips. "I wish we were home. I'm not sure what a good idea it is to hunt in that forest, but we have to go anyway. When I told them that, one of them came forward and told me it had a gift for me if I could answer a riddle."

Ahris smiled wryly. "And you got it right, because how else would we know where to go?"

"You could let me tell my story. Anyway, I agreed and the spirit asked, "Some will use me, others will not, some have remembered while others forgot. For gain of gain the gain of me is used, sometimes for good, sometimes abused. Some shout me from the roofs, some keep me secret, aloof, some spend their lives of me in pursuit. What am I?""

"Is that a riddle or a tongue twister?" Despite her joke, Ahris was already deep in thought. "...Is it...knowledge?"

"Aw, I thought it was harder than that."

"I raised you, I think I can say I'm pretty smart myself."

"Hmph. Well, it said that in a gnarled oak in the Aqtuqtuaq forest - one of the few oaks - there's a raven's nest. And then it touched my head and I woke up."

"I hope your spirit is right. I don't like going into that forest at all..."

Import link and name (including ID) of Tokota: Kaoyan 12628
Chosen soul animal: Raven
Prompt (copy pasted from this journal): 5. Someone has stolen a very important keepsake from one of the elders of a nearby village. Not only is it physically valuable, but it also holds great sentimental value. Depict your tokota finding this treasure and finding a way to retrieve it from the thief in order to return it its rightful owner.
Link to HP confirmation: Confirmation
Previous tasks:
ROD - Kaoyan - Raven I
ROD - Kaoyan - Raven II

Total = 11
3(fb colored shaded) + 2(complex bg) +2(508 WC) +1(show) +1(non-com) +2(handler)